Meanings
winter melon1
plural winter melons
- Benincasa hispida, a species of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) commonly cultivated in Asia.
Synonyms: ash gourd, ash pumpkin, Chinese preserving melon, fuzzy melon, tallow gourd, wax gourd, white gourd, winter gourd
winter melon2
plural winter melons
- Any late-maturing variety of true melon (Cucumis melo), such as honeydew melon (Inodorus Group), Cassaba melon (Cassaba Group), and Spanish melon (Ibericus Group).
Synonyms: late melon
winter melon3
plural winter melons
- obsoleteA type of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus).
There is also a winter-melon, large and with black seeds, exceedingly cooling, brought us from abroad, and the hotter climates, where they drink water after eating melons...
1699, John Evelyn, Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets
Synonyms & antonyms
nounBenincasa hispida, a species of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) commonly cultivated in Asia.
nounAny late-maturing variety of true melon (Cucumis melo), such as honeydew melon (Inodorus Group), Cassaba melon (Cassaba Group), and Spanish melon (Ibericus Group).
More synonyms by meaning
nounany of a variety of muskmelon vines having fruit with a smooth white rind and white or greenish flesh that does not have a musky smell
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
winter melon · noun
- Chinese冬瓜
- Englishwinter melon
Calque of Chinese 冬瓜 (dōngguā).
More words from Chinese
Full word history & related roots →winter melon · noun
- Frenchmelon d'hiver
- Englishwinter melon
Calque of French melon d'hiver.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali চালকুমড়া
- চালকুমড়া (calkumṛa)Translations
Chinese Cantonese 冬瓜, 節瓜 /节瓜
- 冬瓜Translations
- 節瓜 /节瓜 (zit³ gwaa¹)Translations
Chinese Mandarin 冬瓜, 節瓜 /节瓜
- 冬瓜 (dōngguā)Translations
- 節瓜 /节瓜 (jiéguā)Translations
- 冬甜瓜 (dōngtiánguā)Translations
Dutch waspompoen
- waspompoenTranslations
Finnish talvimeloni, vahakurpitsa
- talvimeloniTranslations
- vahakurpitsaTranslations
French courge cireuse, melon d'hiver
- courge cireuseTranslations
- melon d'hiverTranslations
German Wachskürbis, Wintermelone
- WachskürbisTranslations
- WintermeloneTranslations
Hindi पेठा, सफ़ेद कुम्हड़ा
- पेठा (peṭhā)Translations
- सफ़ेद कुम्हड़ा (safed kumhaṛā)Translations
Indonesian beligo, baligo
- beligoTranslations
- baligoTranslations
- bloncengTranslations
- kundurTranslations
Japanese トウガン
- トウガン (tōgan)Translations
Korean 동과
- 동과 (donggwa)Translations
Malay kundur
- kundurTranslations
Punjabi ਪੇਠਾ, ਪੇਠਾ ਕੱਦੂ
- ਪੇਠਾ (peṭhā)Translations
- ਪੇਠਾ ਕੱਦੂ (peṭhā kaddū)Translations
Russian воскова́я ты́ква, зи́мняя ты́ква
- воскова́я ты́ква (voskovája týkva)Translations
- зи́мняя ты́ква (zímnjaja týkva)Translations
- зи́мняя ды́ня (zímnjaja dýnja)Translations
Spanish calabaza china, calabaza blanca
- calabaza chinaTranslations
- calabaza blancaTranslations
- melón de inviernoTranslations
Tagalog kundol
- kundolTranslations
Tamil நீற்றுப்பூசணி
- நீற்றுப்பூசணி (nīṟṟuppūcaṇi)Translations
Thai ฟักเขียว
- ฟักเขียว (fák kǐao)Translations
Vietnamese bí đao
- bí đaoTranslations
Cite this entry
winter melon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/winter%20melon
“winter melon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/winter%20melon. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “winter melon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/winter%20melon.
Source: winter melon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.